A BARNSLEY mum whose son has heartbreakingly been left without his dad says she’s determined to fight to give her Turkish fiancé a legal right to stay in the country after he was denied a visa by the Home Office.
Lucy Beck, 31, met her fiancé Huseyin Denizkiran whilst on holiday in Bodrum in 2018 and although they didn’t get into a relationship straight away, the pair remained Facebook friends and occasionally spoke to one another.
Three years later Huseyin wished Lucy a happy birthday online and from there their relationship blossomed.
Lucy admits she was going through a tough time around that period but Huseyin supported her through it and she eventually flew out to Turkey in July 2021 for a planned three-week holiday.
The Covid travel restrictions prompted her to stay in the country and she was subsequently granted a two-year visa.
She said that she found out she was pregnant in December 2021 but sadly suffered a miscarriage a month later.
Lucy said: “We both decided that it was best for me to fly back home with my mum just to spend two weeks with family.
“The day before we flew home, Huseyin had arranged a family meal.
“After we’d had our food, he proposed to me.
“In August 2022 we found out that I was pregnant again and after a few discussions we decided that it was the best time for me to fly back home to have my family support during my pregnancy.
“After a lot of research, we decided to apply for the visitor visa as that seemed the best option for us.
“That way he could at least be with me during the last few months of the pregnancy and, most importantly, for the birth of our son.”
Huseyin subsequently received a two-year visitor visa and on April 7, Lucy gave birth to their son, Matteo.
But that’s when issues with his visa began.
After being knocked back for a family visa and then denied on appeal, Lucy said that she was ultimately told that she should take Matteo and live with Huseyin back in Turkey - something she is reluctant to do due to the bonds he has made over in England.
The trio flew to Turkey in October last year and Huseyin still remains there - and it’s something that Lucy says has broken the family.
She said: “The impact the separation has had on our son has been heartbreaking to watch as a mother.
“He has started to develop anxiety, heavy breathing at times - his mental state really isn’t the same.
“You can tell that he’s not the same boy.
“In December I took out a loan in order to fly over to Turkey with our son so we could be together as a family again, put our heads together and begin the research of the next process.
“It’s affected me for the last three years both financially and mentally - it’s put a massive strain on our relationship and for anyone to say it’s not genuine I don’t understand.
“But for Matteo, seeing his dad last month and then leaving and not knowing when the next time is going to be is heartbreaking.
“I filmed him saying goodbye because he just broke down - he was trying to run back to his daddy.
“It’s just heartbreaking.”
Lucy has subsequently started an online petition hoping that someone might be able to support them - and she’s hoping it will lead to clearer guidelines so that no other couple will have to go through a similar situation again.
“It’s not that we want anything for free,” she said.
“Huseyin was here for three years and he refused to go to the doctors because he didn’t want it for free.
“We’re not those type of people.
“We want to do things the right way.
“I’m from England, he’s from Turkey so we will be going back and forth - but it’s just about the freedom.
“We want that freedom of choice.
“It’s such an important time in Matteo’s life and all we want to do is be together.”
A Home Office spokesperson told the Chronicle: “The family immigration rules ensure those seeking to establish or maintain their family life in the UK are in a genuine and subsisting relationship, financially independent and able to speak English.”
